Boomer Shoppers Today and Tomorrow: Following the Money

It sad that one is surprised when companies do things well.
Unilever USA recently issued a press release about research into Boomer shopping habits and how these are likely to develop in the next ten years. This looked to be interesting stuff.

I contacted the company’s press office and asked for a copy of the report. Much to my amazement I had a reply within a couple of hours from the Unilever’s PR company (Burson-Marsteller ) saying that they had already read my the blog posting and would send me a copy the report when it was available. True to their word a copy arrived.

So full marks to Unilever/Burson-Marsteller – that is how it should be done.
Most companies and their PR companies have not realized that there is a community of bloggers who can do a lot to promote their message. I would like a dollar for the number of times a company issues a press release, then never puts it onto their own web site, dosen't monitor what bloggers are saying about it and then fails to respond to e-mails.

Now to the report itself – it is excellent.

Unlike the vast majority of research that companies churn out with banal, motherhood conclusions, this report really adds something to our understanding of the 50-plus and how their shopping habits are likely to change.

I don’t agree with all of the conclusions but it is a significant contribution to the body of knowledge about Boomers/50-plus retail futures. Download it and read it! Dick Stroud